Real-time conflict mitigator

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present invention disclose a method, computer system, and a computer program product for mitigating conflicts. The present invention may include receiving communication by a recipient. The present invention may include determining the communicator sentiment and recipient sentiment measured by tone identifiers, biometric identifiers and facial expression identifiers. The present invention may include determining that the recipient sentiment does not match the communicator sentiment. The present invention may include determining and presenting an appropriate response that comprises delivering a message selected from the group consisting of an audio message, a type-written message, and a combination audio message and type-written message, wherein the determined appropriate response is searched for in a positive response database, wherein the positive response database accumulates a plurality of logged conversation responses. The present invention may further include logging a conversation result in a database.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to the field of computing, andmore particularly to conflict mitigation.

Sometimes communication between people can break down and leaveparticipants confused as to why they are receiving a reaction they didnot anticipate. Even well worded expressions may carry a tone that cannegatively impact the recipient. The causes may be that the communicatorcould have difficulty reading others or have a reduced focus due tostress factors. Another level of communication breakdown can happen evenif the communicator does understand the negative impact of theirmessage. A breakdown may occur if the communicator does not know how torespond to the recipient who received the communication negatively.Further, the recipient may also not know how to respond to thenegatively received message, which can lead to a degraded conversationand an untrusting relationship.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention disclose a method, computer system,and a computer program product for mitigating conflicts. The presentinvention may include receiving communication by a recipient, whereinthe received communication has a communicator sentiment associated witha communicator and a recipient sentiment associated with a recipient.The present invention may also include determining the communicatorsentiment associated with the communicator message, wherein thecommunicator sentiment is measured by a plurality of tone identifiers, aplurality of biometric identifiers and a plurality of facial expressionidentifiers, wherein the tone identifiers are captured by a microphoneon a device, wherein the biometric identifiers are selected from a groupconsisting of body heat, pupil dilation and heart rate, and wherein thefacial expression identifiers are captured by a camera on a device or asensor on a device. The present invention may then include determiningthe recipient sentiment associated with a received communicator message,wherein the recipient sentiment is measured by a plurality of toneidentifiers, a plurality of biometric identifiers and a plurality offacial expression identifiers, wherein the tone identifiers are capturedby a microphone on a device, wherein the biometric identifiers areselected from a group consisting of body heat, pupil dilation and heartrate, and wherein the facial expression identifiers are captured by acamera on a device or a sensor on a device. The present invention mayfurther include determining that the determined recipient sentiment doesnot match the determined communicator sentiment based on the receivedcommunication. The present invention may also include determining anappropriate response based on determining that the communicatorsentiment does not match the recipient sentiment. The present inventionmay then include presenting the determined appropriate response, whereinpresenting the appropriate response comprises delivering a messageselected from the group consisting of an audio message, a type-writtenmessage, and a combination audio message and type-written message,wherein the determined appropriate response is searched for in apositive response database, wherein the positive response databaseaccumulates a plurality of logged conversation responses, whereinpresenting the determined appropriate response comprises presenting thedetermined appropriate response to the communicator and the recipient.The present invention may further include logging a conversation resultin a database.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following detailed descriptionof illustrative embodiments thereof, which is to be read in connectionwith the accompanying drawings. The various features of the drawings arenot to scale as the illustrations are for clarity in facilitating oneskilled in the art in understanding the invention in conjunction withthe detailed description. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a networked computer environment according to atleast one embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the conflict mitigator program componentsaccording to at least one embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an operational flowchart illustrating a process for conflictmitigating according to at least one embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of internal and external components ofcomputers and servers depicted in FIG. 1 according to at least oneembodiment;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an illustrative cloud computing environmentincluding the computer system depicted in FIG. 1, in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of functional layers of the illustrative cloudcomputing environment of FIG. 5, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Detailed embodiments of the claimed structures and methods are disclosedherein; however, it can be understood that the disclosed embodiments aremerely illustrative of the claimed structures and methods that may beembodied in various forms. This invention may, however, be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theexemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplaryembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete and will fully convey the scope of this invention to thoseskilled in the art. In the description, details of well-known featuresand techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring thepresented embodiments.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product at any possible technical detail level of integration.The computer program product may include a computer readable storagemedium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereonfor causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, oreither source code or object code written in any combination of one ormore programming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The computer readable program instructions may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including,for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gatearrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute thecomputer readable program instructions by utilizing state information ofthe computer readable program instructions to personalize the electroniccircuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The following described exemplary embodiments provide a system, methodand program product for conflict mitigation. As such, the presentembodiment has the capacity to improve the technical field of conflictmitigation by providing real-time response feedback during aconversation that may lead to more conversations with positive results.More specifically, the conflict mitigator program may analyze eachperson's facial expressions, tone of speech and biometric responsesduring a real-time conversation in real-time in order to providepositive real-time responses to negative reactions. The real-timeresponses may be provided to an individual through a message which maybe typed on a computing device screen or verbally communicated via acomputing device speaker or headphones. The positive responses, providedby the conflict mitigator program, to negative reactions duringcommunications between individuals may foster better and more trustingrelationships between parties. A conflict mitigator program may providereal-time feedback for communicators and recipients in the event thatthere may be a misunderstanding or a mismatch between the recipientsinternal response and the intent of the communicator.

As described previously, sometimes communication between people canbreak down and leave participants confused as to why they are receivinga reaction they did not anticipate. Even well worded expressions maycarry a tone that can negatively impact the recipient. The causes may bethat the communicator could have difficulty reading others or have areduced focus due to stress factors. Another level of communicationbreakdown can happen even if the communicator does understand thenegative impact of their message. A breakdown may occur if thecommunicator does not know how to respond to the recipient who receivedthe communication negatively. Further, the recipient may also not knowhow to respond to the negatively received message, which can lead to adegraded conversation and an untrusting relationship.

Examples of communicators and recipients may include a doctor andpatient relationship, a bully and victim situation, an assisted livingsupport worker and an assisted living resident relationship, a parentand child relationship, or between spouses. A misunderstanding and aproper real-time response may help the individuals in any of thepreviously mentioned relationships, or any other kind of communicatingsituation, understand one another and get a more positive result out ofthe interaction. A better, more positive response and result may lead tostronger relationships and a better understanding between thecommunicator and the recipient. Assessing sentiment and emotions throughvoice identifiers, facial expression identifiers and biometricidentifiers may assist in understanding how a message is communicatedand how a message is received. Therefore, it may be advantageous to,among other things, provide a way to offer real-time feedback to boththe communicator and the recipient while providing each with a morepositive response in order to foster better relationships.

The conflict mitigator program may identify personalities ofcommunicators and recipients and during a conversation may compare thereal-time interaction with previous interactions between the sameparties. The comparison may identify differences in previous reactionsor consistencies in previous reactions whether the reactions arepositive or negative. The conflict mitigator program may have a responsecomponent that provides the parties with real-time feedback on how amessage could have been worded better based on similar conversationsthat had positive emotive results, personalities of the parties and ahistory of interactions between the parties.

A personality example that the conflict mitigator program may take intoconsideration is someone who has difficulty with presenting constructivecriticism and may need specific advice specific to that person's task.Alternatively, someone who does not handle criticism well might needspecific advice on how to respond to criticism. An example of a historyof interactions between parties may include a manager who consistentlygets negative reactions from specific team members when givingdirection. The manager may need feedback on how to solicit the teammembers advice before giving direction.

The conflict mitigator program may provide an individual with specificrecommendations for better and more positively phrased real-timecommunication responses based on real-time communication with anotherperson. The conflict mitigator program may provide real-time responsesto individuals by using a cognitive analyzer to analyze both thecommunicator's and the recipient's tone, biometrics, facial expressionsand sentiment. The tone identifier and the facial expression identifiermay take data from the communicator while capturing the recipient'sfacial expression and biometric response. Upon receiving data in theform of communication tone, biometrics and facial expressions betweentwo or more parties, the conflict mitigator program may use thecurrently received data along with the personalities involved and ahistory of reactions between the parties to identify exemplarconversations.

The cognitive analyzer component of the conflict mitigator program maycompare data in order to provide a more positive conversational responseby using a database that provides similar and more successfulconversational responses. The cognitive analyzer may provide comparisonsof conversations that have happened in the past with the currentconversation. The response feature may provide the communicator and thereceiver of the communication with a better real-time response (e.g.,feedback) during the conversation.

The conflict mitigator program may provide the person that delivered anegatively received message with an alternative message based on similarbut more positive resulting conversations, specific personalitiesinvolved and the history of interactions between the parties. Similarly,the conflict mitigator program may also provide the person who receiveda message that they reacted to in a negative way with a positiveresponse based on similar criteria. When providing a response, theconflict mitigator program may remove identifying data (e.g.,individual's names, locations, etc.) so that the better worded responsesmay provide positive responses without presenting information to theparties (e.g., personality types, history of interactions, etc.). Whilethe conflict mitigator program may analyze personality types and ahistory of interactions, the information may not be provided in specificresponses to communicators and recipients. The conflict mitigatorprogram may be used and be beneficial for first instances ofconversations between more than one person and with already developedrelationships where the individuals have communicated in multipleinstances.

One scenario of how the conflict mitigator program may foster a betterrelationship may be amongst co-workers, for example, Party A often tellsjokes about a specific professional group to co-worker Party B. Party Athinks his jokes are funny and help to put people in a good mood in themorning, however, Party A does not know that Party B's spouse is in thespecific professional group that Party A jokes about. The conflictmitigator program may detect Party B's increasing annoyance throughfacial expressions and tone and the conflict mitigator program may thenrecommend that Party A try a different small talk subject such assports. Sports may be a topic chosen by the conflict mitigator programif there is a history of positive results amongst co-workers having apositive response to sports talk.

Another scenario of how the conflict mitigator program may foster a moretrusting relationship may be between a doctor and a patient, for examplewhen a doctor reviews test data with a patient after only one previousmeeting between the two. The doctor had ordered blood tests and anultrasound since the initial physical examination proved inconclusive.The patient is 18 years old and this is the first medical encounter witha doctor other than the patient's pediatrician. The patient isapprehensive to receive the results of the blood tests and theultrasound since the patient has not previously had any seriousconditions. Another apprehension the patient has is that the patient'spediatrician was friendly and was only visited for an occasional cold orsports related abrasions. During the follow-up appointment, the doctorexplains to the young patient that the tests were inconclusive so abiopsy or surgery may be necessary. Although the doctor also explainsthat the patient should wait a month for a re-examination before gettinga biopsy or surgery, the words surgery and inconclusive have alreadymade the patient concerned. The 18-year-old patient does not understandwhat a biopsy is and surgery sounds scary so all the patient can musterup in a response is to say “ok.”

The conflict mitigator program may identify the patient's heightenedtension through facial expression analysis and biometrics while thedoctor's tone is analyzed as confident and even tempered. The conflictmitigator program identifies a misunderstanding (i.e., a mismatch) basedon the patient's reaction to the doctor's words. The cognitive analyzercomponent of the program may compare the mismatch and find similarconversations between a doctor and a younger, more inexperienced,patient from a database where the doctor had to deliver news regarding acontinuing diagnosis. The conflict mitigator program may then provide areal-time recommendation to the doctor to slow down and explain theterms to the new patient. Another provided real-time recommendation forthe doctor's response may be an adjustment in the phrasing of theinformation to “While we may determine the need for some further tests,we are confident that the best next step is for you to first come backin a month for a re-examination to see how things many have changed.”The conflict mitigator program may also provide the patient withrecommendations, such as to ask for clarification of the terms that werenot understood and recommend the patient say “Doctor, please explainwhat a ‘biopsy’ is and how it is used?”

Another scenario of how the conflict mitigator program may foster a moretrusting relationship may be between an employee and a resident of anassisted living facility, for example in a situation where an assistedliving resident has resided at a facility for a year. The resident doesnot like physical contact and a newer employee of the facility likes togive friendly hugs when greeting people. The quick affection from thenewer employee to the resident may cause the resident to be apprehensiveand react negatively to the employee even though the employee believesthey are being friendly.

The conflict mitigator program may identify the resident's apprehensionwhen interacting with the friendly employee through biometrics andfacial expression analysis. The conflict mitigator program may alsoidentify the employee's joyful sentiment and openness which would createa misunderstanding (i.e., a mismatch) with the resident's reaction. Theconflict mitigator program may then search a database to find similarscenarios and provide a recommendation of alternative real-timeresponses. An alternative real-time response for the employee may be toask the resident permission before doing anything physical such asgiving the resident a hug. Further, the conflict mitigator program mayrecommend that the resident state more directly to the employee aboutwhat kind of interaction is preferred.

The conflict mitigator program in the above stated examples may generatea real-time response by analyzing past behavior and by analyzing othersimilarly situated conversation environments. The conflict mitigatorprogram may recognize that even if the communicators are prepared for aconversation, that face-to-face communication may still lead tomisunderstandings that are specific to the parties involved and mayprovide guidance to the communicators in real-time. If there is amismatch in sentiment during the conversation, the conflict mitigatorprogram may notice that one person may be upset while the other isdemonstrating positive characteristics such as joy or empathy. Areal-time response may provide the communicators with similarconversations that had more positive results where the participants didnot have a negative mood, were not in a heightened response and showedpositive sentiments such as empathy, confidence, joy and/or openness.Previous similar conversations that the conflict mitigator program usesmay be between the two parties conversing which had positive emotiveresults or between two different parties which had positive emotiveresults.

Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary networked computer environment 100 inaccordance with one embodiment is depicted. The networked computerenvironment 100 may include a computer 102 with a processor 104 and adata storage device 106 that is enabled to run a software program 108and a conflict mitigator program 110 a. The networked computerenvironment 100 may also include a server 112 that is enabled to run aconflict mitigator program 110 b that may interact with a database 114and a communication network 116. The networked computer environment 100may include a plurality of computers 102 and servers 112, only one ofwhich is shown. The communication network 116 may include various typesof communication networks, such as a wide area network (WAN), local areanetwork (LAN), a telecommunication network, a wireless network, a publicswitched network and/or a satellite network. It should be appreciatedthat FIG. 1 provides only an illustration of one implementation and doesnot imply any limitations with regard to the environments in whichdifferent embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to thedepicted environments may be made based on design and implementationrequirements.

The client computer 102 may communicate with the server computer 112 viathe communications network 116. The communications network 116 mayinclude connections, such as wire, wireless communication links, orfiber optic cables. As will be discussed with reference to FIG. 4,server computer 112 may include internal components 902 a and externalcomponents 904 a, respectively, and client computer 102 may includeinternal components 902 b and external components 904 b, respectively.Server computer 112 may also operate in a cloud computing service model,such as Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), orInfrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Server 112 may also be located in acloud computing deployment model, such as a private cloud, communitycloud, public cloud, or hybrid cloud. Client computer 102 may be, forexample, a mobile device, a telephone, a personal digital assistant, anetbook, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a desktop computer, orany type of computing devices capable of running a program, accessing anetwork, and accessing a database 114. According to variousimplementations of the present embodiment, the conflict mitigatorprogram 110 a, 110 b may interact with a database 114 that may beembedded in various storage devices, such as, but not limited to acomputer/mobile device 102, a networked server 112, or a cloud storageservice.

According to the present embodiment, a user using a client computer 102or a server computer 112 may use the conflict mitigator program 110 a,110 b (respectively) to obtain real-time responses to communication withanother person where a misunderstanding may be present. The conflictmitigator method is explained in more detail below with respect to FIGS.2 and 3.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram of the conflict mitigatorprogram components according to at least one embodiment is depicted. Theprogram components 200 may include identifier components such as a toneidentifier 202, a biometric identifier 204 and a facial expressionidentifier 206. The program components 200 may also include a cognitiveanalyzer 208, a response feature 210 and a logging feature 212.

The tone identifier 202 may analyze the sentiment in the communicator'stone of voice (e.g., volume, inflection, sharpness, softness, etc.). Thetone identifier 202 may also identify the tone of a digital message byanalyzing the words written with other symbols and the use of capitalletters. The biometric identifier 204 may measure heightened responses(e.g., changes in blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, pupil dilation,body temperature, etc.). The facial expression identifier 206 mayrecognize emotions (e.g., joy, fear, duress, anger, etc.).

The cognitive analyzer 208 may use computing technology (e.g., WatsonAnalytics™, Watson Analytics and all Watson Analytics-based trademarksand logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of InternationalBusiness Machines Corporation and/or its affiliates) to analyze the toneidentifiers 202, biometric identifiers 204, and facial expressionidentifiers 206 that have been inputted into the conflict mitigatorprogram 110 a, 110 b. The cognitive analyzer 208 may analyze thepersonalities of the communicator and the recipient, the history ofreactions between the personalities (e.g., positive or negativereactions) and may identify exemplary conversations that relate to thesame subject that is being conversed. The cognitive analyzer 208 maydetect patterns of conversations and reactions made by an individual.For example, whether a doctor has had consistent negative or positiveresponses from the nurse staff. This data may be useful to both thedoctor to know how best to talk to co-workers and for the hospital to beable to track the doctor's effectiveness in communicating.

The response feature 210 may provide real-time feedback (e.g., throughheadphones, speakers, text, type written message, etc.) for both thecommunicator and the recipient based on the cognitive analyzer'sidentification of exemplar conversations. The response feature 210 mayprovide both parties with real-time feedback that may be more positivein nature and that might defuse any situation (e.g., alternativereactions and message phrasing). Further, the response feature 210 mayalso allow the communicators to build trust by communicating through anymisunderstandings in real-time. The logging feature 212 may log the toneidentifiers 202, biometric identifiers 204, facial expressionidentifiers 206, cognitive analysis and real-time response to capturethe history of conversations and reactions between communicators for usein the present conversation or use in a future conversation. Theconflict mitigator program 110 a, 110 b may use a database 114 to storethe communications between communicators, the reactions and resolutions.The database 114 may provide better responses (i.e., feedback) as thedatabase obtains more data to pull from. For example, the moreconversations and reactions that are added to the database 114 (e.g.,Watson) may create more data for the conflict mitigator program 110 a,110 b to use when providing real-time feedback to communicators.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an operational flowchart illustrating theexemplary real-time conflict mitigator process 300 used by the conflictmitigator program 110 a, 110 b according to at least one embodiment isdepicted.

At 302, the conflict mitigator program 110 a, 110 b receives real-timecommunication. The communication may be received either verbally ortype-written. When the communicator speaks, or sends a message, both therecipient and the conflict mitigator program 110 a, 110 b receive theverbal or type-written message. The conflict mitigator program 110 a,110 b may receive communication from any individual during aconversation. Verbal communication may be captured using a microphone ona device in an audio file format (e.g., .mp3 and .wav formats). Theaudio file may be filed in a data repository as an audio message. Thetype-written communication (i.e., type-written message) may be capturedfrom an email or a text message and may be filed in a data repository.

Then at 304, the conflict mitigator program 110 a, 110 b determines ifthere is a mismatch in communication between the sender and therecipient. A mismatch may be a misunderstanding between the peopleconversing. A mismatch may occur when the intent of the communicatordoes not match the resulting emotional response of the recipient. Themismatch may even occur in the form of body contact such as a hug, aspresented in the previous example between the employee and the assistedliving facility resident. An example of a communication misunderstandingmay occur if the communicator makes a statement or asks a question withgood intentions and the statement is met with a response from therecipient that is upset, sad or angry. Good intentions may be measuredby the communicator's tone of voice, facial expression features andbiometric features. Similarly, the recipient's opposite response ofsadness or anger may be measured by tone of voice, facial expressionfeatures and biometric features. An example of good intentions may showan even-level heart rate while anger may show an elevated heart rate.

The tone of voice feature may be captured by a microphone input into adigital audio file format and the conflict mitigator program 110 a, 110b may identify certain patterns and compare the patterns with knownpatterns of tone of voice associated with positive and negativereactions. For example, a softer and even tone may convey a calm andnice tone of voice while a sharp and loud tone may convey an angry toneof voice. Facial expression features may be captured through a camerasensor and the conflict mitigator program 110 a, 110 b may conduct animage analysis or pattern matching, or both image analysis and patternmatching, to identify facial features associated with positive andnegative reactions. For example, a smile may show a positive facialfeature while furrowed eyebrows may convey a negative or confused facialfeature. The biometric feature may use known technology to capture bodyreactions (e.g., body heat, blood flow, heart rate/pulse, dilatedpupils, etc.) to comments or physical contact. For example, a LED(light-emitting diode) light may be shined from a device worn on thewrist onto the wrist to detect changes in blood flow. For example, asharp rise in blood flow during a conversation may convey a morenegative reaction.

The mismatch may be recognized by the conflict mitigator program 110 a,110 b by noticing, for example, that the communicator's intent was good,however, the recipient had a negative response to the comment made bythe communicator. The tone identifiers 202, biometric identifiers 204and facial feature identifiers 206 may identify the communicator ispositively communicating with good intent through a nice tone, regularheartrate and joyful facial features. The recipient may provide toneidentifiers 202, biometric identifiers 204 and facial expressionidentifiers 206 to show a negative reaction by body temperature rising,facial features that represent a stressful emotion and a distressed toneof voice in a response. This mismatch (e.g., misunderstanding) willcause the conflict mitigator program 110 a, 110 b to search a positiveresponse database (e.g., database 114) containing positive responses forbetter responses to provide for each party to use. The communicator maybe presented with real-time feedback to reword the comment while therecipient may be presented with real-time feedback to ask thecommunicator to clarify what they meant.

For example, a doctor communicates to a young patient that the resultsto the tests that were run were inconclusive, a biopsy may be needednext month and surgery may follow. The young patient does not fullyunderstand what is being communicated and gets scared of the word biopsyand the word surgery. An older patient in this scenario might not reactnegatively to this communication from the doctor because an olderpatient would most likely understand what the doctor is saying. Theyounger patient, however, does not know what a biopsy is and isfrightened at the thought of surgery because the young patient has notbeen to a doctor for more than a common cold. Therefore, the doctor'sgood intent with empathetic emotions while communicating to the patientis a mismatch with the patients resulting fear.

If the conflict mitigator program 110 a, 110 b determined that there isnot a mismatch in communication between the communicator and therecipient at 304, then the conflict mitigator program 110 a, 110 b willlog the results in a database (e.g., database 114) at 306. If nomismatch in the tone identifiers 202, biometric identifiers 204, andfacial feature identifier 206 between the communicator's intent and therecipient's reaction is present, then the conflict mitigator program 110a, 110 b may not need to provide any real-time response to parties inthe conversation. The conversation may be saved in a database 114 to bemarked as successful and the data from the conversation may be used tomake the cognitive analyzer 208 component more robust with potentialpositive responses. For example, if a doctor provides test results to ayoung patient who understood what the doctor was saying, and the youngpatient provided positive tone identifiers 202, biometric identifiers204 and facial expression identifiers 206, then the details of theconversation may be used for a doctor in a similar situation but in aninstance where the young patient reacted negatively to the conversation.

If the conflict mitigator program 110 a, 110 b determined that there isa mismatch in communication between the communicator and the recipientat 304, then the conflict mitigator program 110 a, 110 b will providereal-time feedback to both the communicator and the recipient at 308.The conflict mitigator program 110 a, 110 b provides real-time feedbackfor communicators and recipients in the event that there may be amisunderstanding or a mismatch between the recipients internal responseand the intent of the communicator. Responses may be in the form of amessage on a screen, a voice played through speakers, or throughheadphones. Responses may also be a combination of an audio message anda type-written message. Real-time feedback may turn negativeconversations into positive conversations that yield stronger and moretrusting relationships. The real-time component of the conflictmitigator program 110 a, 110 b allows the conversation to be correctedinstantly while the conversation is happening. A person could go fromhaving bad feelings associated with a person or conversation in thebeginning of conversing to later walking away with good feelingsassociated with the same person or conversation. The real-time componentof the conflict mitigator program 110 a, 110 b may create a morepositive environment where the people communicating may get more valueand feel better after having the conversation.

Continuing from the previous example, since there is a mismatch betweenthe doctor's intent of communication and the patient's emotionalresponse to the communication, the conflict mitigator program 110 a, 110b may provide real-time responses to both the doctor and the patient.Real-time feedback for the doctor may tell the doctor to explain what abiopsy is to the patient and that nothing further needs to be donebetween now and the next checkup in a month when more information willbe available after more tests are run. The conflict mitigator program110 a, 110 b may provide real-time feedback for the doctor by searchingfor similar conversations between doctors and young patients in thepositive response database (e.g., database 114), which may be moreexplanatory in nature by providing definitions to words that an olderpatient may already know. Alternatively, the conflict mitigator program110 a, 110 b may provide real-time feedback for the patient to ask thedoctor to explain what a biopsy is. Through the dialog that may comefrom the conflict mitigator program's 110 a, 110 b real-time feedbackcomponent, the doctor may earn the trust of the patient and the patientmay walk away from the doctor appointment without fear. This morepositive interaction may foster better trust and relationships.

Then at 310, the conflict mitigator program 110 a, 110 b will log theresults in a database 114. The results are logged into a database 114 asstated above at 306. The log may continually collect data andcontinually grow, providing more responses to more types of situationsthereby increasing the effectiveness of the conflict mitigator program110 a, 110 b over time.

It may be appreciated that FIGS. 2 and 3 provide only an illustration ofone embodiment and do not imply any limitations with regard to howdifferent embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to thedepicted embodiment(s) may be made based on design and implementationrequirements. An alternate embodiment may be where one party receivesrecommended (i.e., appropriate) responses from the conflict mitigatorprogram 110 a, 110 b. For example, if the communicator has a devicerunning the conflict mitigator program 110 a, 110 b, and was speaking toa recipient who did not have a device running the conflict mitigatorprogram 110 a, 110 b, then the communicator's device may provide thecommunicator with proper responses based on sentiment analysis of boththe communicator and the recipient.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram 900 of internal and external components ofcomputers depicted in FIG. 1 in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment of the present invention. It should be appreciated that FIG.4 provides only an illustration of one implementation and does not implyany limitations with regard to the environments in which differentembodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depictedenvironments may be made based on design and implementationrequirements.

Data processing system 902, 904 is representative of any electronicdevice capable of executing machine-readable program instructions. Dataprocessing system 902, 904 may be representative of a smart phone, acomputer system, PDA, or other electronic devices. Examples of computingsystems, environments, and/or configurations that may represented bydata processing system 902, 904 include, but are not limited to,personal computer systems, server computer systems, thin clients, thickclients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based systems, network PCs, minicomputer systems, anddistributed cloud computing environments that include any of the abovesystems or devices.

User client computer 102 and network server 112 may include respectivesets of internal components 902 a, b and external components 904 a, billustrated in FIG. 4. Each of the sets of internal components 902 a, bincludes one or more processors 906, one or more computer-readable RAMs908, and one or more computer-readable ROMs 910 on one or more buses912, and one or more operating systems 914 and one or morecomputer-readable tangible storage devices 916. The one or moreoperating systems 914, the software program 108 and the conflictmitigator program 110 a in client computer 102, and the conflictmitigator program 110 b in network server 112, may be stored on one ormore computer-readable tangible storage devices 916 for execution by oneor more processors 906 via one or more RAMs 908 (which typically includecache memory). In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, each of thecomputer-readable tangible storage devices 916 is a magnetic diskstorage device of an internal hard drive. Alternatively, each of thecomputer-readable tangible storage devices 916 is a semiconductorstorage device such as ROM 910, EPROM, flash memory or any othercomputer-readable tangible storage device that can store a computerprogram and digital information.

Each set of internal components 902 a, b also includes a R/W drive orinterface 918 to read from and write to one or more portablecomputer-readable tangible storage devices 920 such as a CD-ROM, DVD,memory stick, magnetic tape, magnetic disk, optical disk orsemiconductor storage device. A software program, such as the softwareprogram 108 and the conflict mitigator program 110 a, 110 b can bestored on one or more of the respective portable computer-readabletangible storage devices 920, read via the respective R/W drive orinterface 918, and loaded into the respective hard drive 916.

Each set of internal components 902 a, b may also include networkadapters (or switch port cards) or interfaces 922 such as a TCP/IPadapter cards, wireless wi-fi interface cards, or 3G or 4G wirelessinterface cards or other wired or wireless communication links. Thesoftware program 108 and the conflict mitigator program 110 a in clientcomputer 102 and the conflict mitigator program 110 b in network servercomputer 112 can be downloaded from an external computer (e.g., server)via a network (for example, the Internet, a local area network or other,wide area network) and respective network adapters or interfaces 922.From the network adapters (or switch port adaptors) or interfaces 922,the software program 108 and the conflict mitigator program 110 a inclient computer 102 and the conflict mitigator program 110 b in networkserver computer 112 are loaded into the respective hard drive 916. Thenetwork may comprise copper wires, optical fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers.

Each of the sets of external components 904 a, b can include a computerdisplay monitor 924, a keyboard 926, and a computer mouse 928. Externalcomponents 904 a, b can also include touch screens, virtual keyboards,touch pads, pointing devices, and other human interface devices. Each ofthe sets of internal components 902 a, b also includes device drivers930 to interface to computer display monitor 924, keyboard 926, andcomputer mouse 928. The device drivers 930, R/W drive or interface 918,and network adapter or interface 922 comprise hardware and software(stored in storage device 916 and/or ROM 910).

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachingsrecited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

-   -   On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally        provision computing capabilities, such as server time and        network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human        interaction with the service's provider.    -   Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network        and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by        heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile        phones, laptops, and PDAs).    -   Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled        to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with        different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned        and reassigned according to demand. There is a sense of location        independence in that the consumer generally has no control or        knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources but        may be able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction        (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).    -   Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elastically        provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out        and rapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the        capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be        unlimited and can be purchased in any quantity at any time.    -   Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and        optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability at        some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service        (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user        accounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and        reported providing transparency for both the provider and        consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

-   -   Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the        consumer is to use the provider's applications running on a        cloud infrastructure. The applications are accessible from        various client devices through a thin client interface such as a        web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail). The consumer does not        manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including        network, servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual        application capabilities, with the possible exception of limited        user-specific application configuration settings.    -   Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the        consumer is to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure        consumer-created or acquired applications created using        programming languages and tools supported by the provider. The        consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud        infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems,        or storage, but has control over the deployed applications and        possibly application hosting environment configurations.    -   Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to        the consumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and        other fundamental computing resources where the consumer is able        to deploy and run arbitrary software, which can include        operating systems and applications. The consumer does not manage        or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control        over operating systems, storage, deployed applications, and        possibly limited control of select networking components (e.g.,        host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

-   -   Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for        an organization. It may be managed by the organization or a        third party and may exist on-premises or off-premises.    -   Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by several        organizations and supports a specific community that has shared        concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and        compliance considerations). It may be managed by the        organizations or a third party and may exist on-premises or        off-premises.    -   Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the        general public or a large industry group and is owned by an        organization selling cloud services.    -   Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two        or more clouds (private, community, or public) that remain        unique entities but are bound together by standardized or        proprietary technology that enables data and application        portability (e.g., cloud bursting for load-balancing between        clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 5, illustrative cloud computing environment 1000is depicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 1000 comprises one ormore cloud computing nodes 100 with which local computing devices usedby cloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant(PDA) or cellular telephone 1000A, desktop computer 1000B, laptopcomputer 1000C, and/or automobile computer system 1000N may communicate.Nodes 100 may communicate with one another. They may be grouped (notshown) physically or virtually, in one or more networks, such asPrivate, Community, Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove,or a combination thereof. This allows cloud computing environment 1000to offer infrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for whicha cloud consumer does not need to maintain resources on a localcomputing device. It is understood that the types of computing devices1000A-N shown in FIG. 5 are intended to be illustrative only and thatcomputing nodes 100 and cloud computing environment 1000 can communicatewith any type of computerized device over any type of network and/ornetwork addressable connection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 6, a set of functional abstraction layers 1100provided by cloud computing environment 1000 is shown. It should beunderstood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shownin FIG. 6 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of theinvention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers andcorresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 1102 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes 1104;RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 1106;servers 1108; blade servers 1110; storage devices 1112; and networks andnetworking components 1114. In some embodiments, software componentsinclude network application server software 1116 and database software1118.

Virtualization layer 1120 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers1122; virtual storage 1124; virtual networks 1126, including virtualprivate networks; virtual applications and operating systems 1128; andvirtual clients 1130.

In one example, management layer 1132 may provide the functionsdescribed below. Resource provisioning 1134 provides dynamic procurementof computing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing 1136provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 1138 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 1140provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 1142 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 1144 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 1146; software development and lifecycle management 1148;virtual classroom education delivery 1150; data analytics processing1152; transaction processing 1154; and conflict mitigation 1156. Aconflict mitigator program 110 a, 110 b provides real-time feedback forcommunicators and recipients in the event that there may be amisunderstanding or a mismatch between the recipients internal responseand the intent of the communicator.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

1. A method for mitigating conflicts, the method comprising: receivingcommunication by a recipient, wherein the received communication has acommunicator sentiment associated with a communicator and a recipientsentiment associated with a recipient; determining the communicatorsentiment associated with the communicator message, wherein thecommunicator sentiment is measured by a plurality of biometricidentifiers and a plurality of facial expression identifiers, whereinthe biometric identifiers are selected from a group consisting of bodyheat, pupil dilation and heart rate, and wherein the facial expressionidentifiers are captured by a camera on a device or a sensor on adevice; determining the recipient sentiment associated with a receivedcommunicator message, wherein the recipient sentiment is measured by aplurality of biometric identifiers and a plurality of facial expressionidentifiers, wherein the biometric identifiers are selected from thegroup consisting of body heat, pupil dilation and heart rate, andwherein the facial expression identifiers are captured by a camera on adevice or a sensor on a device; determining that the determinedrecipient sentiment does not match the determined communicator sentimentin real-time based on the received communication, wherein the unmatchedsentiment is a miscommunication between the communicator and therecipient, wherein the communicator makes a statement with goodintentions and the statement is received by the recipient as a statementwith not good intentions, wherein the plurality of biometric identifiersand the plurality of facial expression identifiers provide a pluralityof data to indicate the communicator had good intentions and therecipient received the statement as not good intentions; determining anappropriate response in real-time based on determining that thecommunicator sentiment does not match the recipient sentiment, whereinthe appropriate response is a response that recognizes themisunderstanding and creates understanding between the communicator andthe recipient; presenting the determined appropriate response inreal-time, wherein presenting the appropriate response comprisesdelivering a message selected from a group consisting of an audiomessage, a type-written message, and a combination audio message andtype-written message, wherein the determined appropriate response issearched for in a positive response database, wherein the positiveresponse database accumulates a plurality of logged conversationresponses, wherein the positive response database stores data selectedfrom a group consisting of a plurality of similar previousconversations, a plurality of previous positive conversations thatproduced a plurality of positive emotive results, a plurality ofpersonalities of the communicator and the recipient and a plurality ofhistorical interactions between the communicator and the recipient,wherein presenting the determined appropriate response comprisespresenting the determined appropriate response to the communicator andthe recipient; and logging a conversation result in a database.